top of page
zoemeachem

International Women's Day 2024

This year I feel inspired to share the words of a mother I've been lucky enough to support during her pregnancy, and explain why her joy and sense of achievement following the birth of her daughter spoke so loudly to me and hopefully will be an inspiration to you too.



I've known Martha for a couple of years, meeting in my Mum and Baby Yoga classes after the birth of her first child. Her son was born just after the pandemic, when maternity services in the UK were still very much in the shadow of restrictions. So many mothers were coming to my postnatal classes with feelings of loss, anger, confusion, and trauma at what they had experienced during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal phase. The topic of maternity care during the pandemic is vast and requires a blog post all of its own, as there is so much to say (maybe one for the future). For now, thankfully, we are seeing green shoots of positivity with steps such as The Meadow Birthing Suite reopening properly - finally! (Meadow Suite is the midwife led unit at Worcester hospital).


When Martha began preparing for baby number two, she was determined things would be different. She hired a birth doula, planned to have her baby at home, attended regular pregnancy yoga classes and my Hypnobirthing workshop with her fabulous husband. She also took time to heal from the experience of her first birth with the Three Step Rewind process, so that mentally she felt safer entering into the birth space again.


Receiving the message of Martha's beautiful baby arriving, peacefully, at home, in a supportive bubble of love and safety was such a joy and inspiration... Here's what Martha wrote...


"I did it Zoe 💪🏻 Say hello to Edie 💕 born at home 5th March at 23.23pm. She weighed 8lb5oz ☺️ She was born uninterrupted, in the pool and I managed to do it with a TENS machine, 2 paracetamol and the water as pain relief. Can’t believe it! Jack and Debs were amazing, but most of all, believing in my body was what got me through 💕


Most of all, believing in my body is what got me through" 💕


These words stayed with me as this is a key ingredient, often so hard to maintain, as we progress through our pregnancies, with all the emphasis on the health of mother and baby being determined by measurements, machines and tests, that make it easy to feel that birth comes from outside sources. We're led to believe that birth is something that happens "to us" and we just have to hope for the best and that our caregivers will grant us the mercy of pain relief or a yes/no to our choices about the birth. Usually our experiences are left at the fate of how busy the hospital is, staffing levels and the policies each trust has in place.


It can be so easy to feel like we can't do it, or feel scared of the process of birth. What I loved so much about Martha's second birth, is that it was her belief in her body that enabled her to have the courage to go for the birth she wanted. That faith in ourselves is so often the missing ingredient, because of the way women are treated. It really takes courage, strength and rising above a lot of cultural pressure and common treatment of modern medicine to experience physiological birth these days.


My aim for all women I work with through Pregnancy Yoga and Hypnobirthing is to help them see the innate ability of their bodies to give birth. Often the work is to get our mindset in the right place, so that we can feel safe to birth wherever we choose -sadly, despite the frequent disturbances of a natural process which has become the norm.


Martha birthed a little girl. I, too, have daughters and my hope is that by the time they get round to birthing (if that's what they choose) that there won't be such a fight on their hands, to be able to birth in a feeling of power. My wish is for all women to be celebrated, trusted and respected throughout their pregnancies and birth. So on International Women's Day 2024 I am setting that hope and intention for all the women coming after me to give birth will believe in themselves and that society supports them to enable this to happen. We deserve better, ladies, we deserve to all be free to believe in our bodies and believe in our power to birth.


With love

Zoe


82 views0 comments

Comentarios


bottom of page